Excessive water in your system can dilute your body fluids so much that the sodium levels become life-threateningly low.

Water may be the elixir of life, but it sure can send your health into a tailspin, even endanger your life, if you drink too much of it. While packaged water, juice and cola companies hard-sell their thirst-quenchers to you through TV and print advertisements, the truth is that drinking too much water can do you more harm than good.

Due to excessive water consumption, people have died of over-hydration, which goes by the name of Exercise-Associated Hyponatraemia (EAH). In simple terms, it means that you have drank too much water and the excess has diluted your body fluids so much that the sodium levels have become life-threateningly low, causing cells to swell. That includes brain cells leading to loss of consciousness, seizures and even coma and death. For long-distance runners…